On day 23 of the government shutdown, Trump treated the winners of the College Football National Football Championship to a gourmet meal of fast food. It made for many jokes on the Internet to see the country's best college athletes dining on greasy plates of McDonald's. It was like a scene from Talladega Nights; packets of sauces were placed carefully in silver gravy boats while candles were lit to show the decorum of the dinner. Trump stood back, proud of his cheap meal, claiming that this was exactly what the players wanted.
It wasn't.
The dinner comes after a horrific Christmas season of penniless paychecks for government workers and destroyed national parks left without upkeep. As the American people want answers to why a man could be so selfish in his ventures that he would sacrifice the entire country's wellbeing, he chose to serve champions of a sport the lowest tier of American food. It was a slap in the face, honestly, and shows what an embarrassment the man is for the country.
Trump's fast food dinner for the Clemson players is essentially a metaphor for what America endures under his reign. He abuses the country like the sleazy businessman he is; choosing the cheapest options, whether it be slicing essential government programs that deal with food safety and national parks, or passing off fast food as catering.
Looking deeper, the fast food, in all its highly processed, fattening glory, parallels the standard at which Trump runs his country. Rather than having well-thought-out plans of action, transparent procedures, and beneficial ideas for the country, he resorts to the disgusting parts of our government to form his ideas. He practices xenophobia, racism, and sexism constantly, which attracts like-minded people to his government. He stubbornly holds on to an idea of a massive, costly wall, when so many other ills of our country could use the money.
He feeds the American people lies and deceit, constantly peddling the idea of the outspoken man who does not need to care for others.
But it's just a dinner, right?
It could be easy to fall into the pattern of believing even the simplest of Trump's actions are small and insignificant, but that kind of rhetoric distracts from the bigger picture. Trump chose to feed the players a smorgasbord of fast food because funding for the White House was little to nothing due to the government shutdown. That would mean the feast would come out of his own pocket, and that is just simply unimaginable for the businessman.
He essentially suffered from his own actions and decided the American people should suffer even more.
Those Clemson players got dressed in their nicest suits and traveled hours out of their way to be shown just how great their athleticism was. They went right before the first week of classes, forfeiting any preparing for their academics. They took time out of their way to meet the supposedly "leader of the free world," only to be served what they could get for four dollars down the street.
Regardless of your political and social views, is this really what you want?